


Pull Me Into Focus

by superscavenger



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Ava is an adorable little bean, F/F, Miscommunication, Sara actually opens up, mentions of biphobia, the world is our oyster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 06:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13699167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superscavenger/pseuds/superscavenger
Summary: After telling Sara about a bad experience with a bisexual woman, Ava goes on to make an absent assumption that Sara is actually just gay.Sara doesn't want to lose her chance, and so in the moment, she lies.But a familiar face reminds her that in reality, lying is never going to make it better.Based on this anonymous prompt from tumblr:Sara is usually comfortable in her sexuality but for some reason she doesn't want Ava to look at her differently so when Ava asks about her sexuality she lies? Some angst but fluff at the end pls?





	Pull Me Into Focus

**Author's Note:**

> This was quite close to my heart and was quite the tough one to write; there isn't any actual biphobia here, miscommunication plays a big part in this piece.   
> But, biphobia is a real thing within the LGBT community, and we need to band together to rid the world of it once and for all.

Sara and Ava are the last ones standing at the Dive Bar on Earth 38, the Legends still trying to help Supergirl's team out with a particularly pesky alien foe. Ava had come along on almost every Legends mission since Beebo, and nobody really batted an eyelid; she'd become a part of the team that they didn't even know they needed.  

 

Even Alex had declared she was done drinking and went home for the night, but not before giving Sara a little push after sensing the tension between the her and Ava.  

 

They're both rather shitfaced at this point, and as Sara tucks into a bowl cookie dough ice cream she ordered because she's extremely drunk (Ava can't help but laugh when Sara almost gushes over the stuff, saying it's the best thing man ever invented), Ava decides to delve a little deeper into gathering some more knowledge of the ex-assassin sat next to her at the bar. 

 

'So Supergirl's sister, huh? That was your last...escapade?' 

 

The notion of mentioning Constantine crosses her mind, but she forgets it momentarily as she smiles at the mention of Alex. 

 

'Yes siree, she was, and she was pretty good too,' Sara says, and Ava tries to hide her jealousy by pouring them a shot from the bottle she'd bought and clinking the tiny glass to hers.  

 

'You know she literally fell out of bed the next morning trying to escape? I asked her how her butt was in front of her sister and she looked like she wanted to melt into the sidewalk, it was fucking hilarious,' Sara recounts, and even Ava can admit that's rather humorous. 

 

'What about you, what was your last escapade?' 

 

Ava opened her mouth, obviously thinking back to remember correctly.

  

'I um...I don't really do one-night-stands very much.  There was this one girl at the Time Bureau and we got drunk and fooled around a little at a work party, that's just been awkward ever since, but...I haven't really had a lot of...experiences since my last relationship blew up in my face.' 

 

Sara takes the turn of pouring the shots this time. 

 

'What happened? If It's okay for me to ask, you don't have to -'

 

'No no, it's good.  It was all going great, then I got home one day to her packing up all of her stuff, outta nowhere.  Turns out she'd fallen in love with some guy and decided she didn't want to be with me anymore, that he was better. And she just left.' 

 

Sara can't quite believe anybody would do that to Ava.

 

'Well she's a fucking bitch, Ava, and you deserve so much better than her.' 

 

Ava looks at Sara, who looks completely angry for her and she lets out a hint of a smile, letting herself hope just that little bit.  

 

'Good thing we're not into men though, huh? Not dealing with that crap again if I can help it.  Easier if they're just not in the picture.' 

 

Sara is about to tell her, tell her she's actually bisexual but then remembers how Ava was treated, how she'd just told Sara how it all went down.

 

So she lies. 

 

Because if there's a chance that Ava could think of her in a different light because of that, she'll never want her. 

 

It's not like she's lying, she's more just...omitting the truth. 

 

'Too right,' Sara says, the words feeling like gravel on her tongue, and they clink glasses again and she suddenly feels much more uneasy than she did moments ago.

 

~()~

 

'Hey,' Alex calls out, just catching Sara on the way out of the changing room at the DEO.  They'd finally defeated the alien, and it's safely locked in DEO custody, so the team are having one more dinner before the Legends return to the Waverider and go back to Earth 1. 

 

Sara turns at the sound of Alex's voice, and deep down she's glad there's no more awkwardness between them. 

 

'Hey there,' Sara says, giving the other woman an earnest smile. 

 

'You seem a little tense today, and not in the fight type of way. You okay?' 

 

'Yeah, I just got a lot on my mind, that's all.' 

 

'You wanna talk about it?' 

 

She's about to say no - she always says no, she always wants to push her feelings right back down into the pit of her stomach so they can stay there, stop causing her problems - but this time, she thinks it's probably a better idea just to...get it out. Because this thing was going to eat her alive.

 

Besides, Alex was the queen of shoving things down as far as they could go, and she opened up to Sara the first time they met.

 

'Um...I mean...I could use an ear if you're around.'

 

'Say no more,' Alex says, and she goes into the big locker that has her name on it, pulling out a half empty bottle of bourbon and two glasses. 

 

'Do you have a bottle for every occasion?' 

 

'Probably, but I barely touch this one.  The last time I drank this was with Maggie, actually, it was after we'd caught this metahuman; I lost a bet,' Alex says with a fleeting smile on her face, reminiscing over her love that was now somewhere else. 

 

Alex pours them both a drink, sitting on the bench beside Sara and handing her a glass. 

 

'So what's picking at you?' 

 

Sara bristles a little, somewhat uncomfortable with getting personal. But if she doesn't get this out now, she never will.

 

'Ava and I were drinking after everyone left last night, and she...she told me about her last relationship.  Basically it um...it ended badly, the girl ended up shacking up with a guy instead,' Sara begins, and takes a drink.

 

'That really sucks.' 

 

'Yeah.  She then said something along the lines of...good thing neither of us like men, no dealing with that if she can help it type thing.'  

 

'Okay, that's fair I guess, but aren't you -' 

 

'Yeah.' 

 

'So you said that then, right?' 

 

Sara looks at Alex, and that tells the other woman all she needs to know. 

 

'I just...I didn't want her to look at me differently,' Sara says, bristling visibly. 

 

Alex leans her elbows on her thighs, thinking through the situation. 

 

'I know it was a dumb move, I just...I just reacted,' Sara continues, swiping it through her loose hair. 'And now I just feel sick.'

 

'Because you're lying to her, Sara. I mean I understand why you would...react like that, it's a fear receptor. But I'm sure that if you told her the truth she'd be okay with it. I mean, she's gay, it's the same sort of community, right?' 

 

Sara raises her eyebrow for a moment before giving Alex a sad smile. 

 

'Unfortunately, the world isn't always that wonderful.  I've had a couple of people in my time discriminate because, and I quote, 'can't pick a gender'.'

 

'Well that is horrible, and I get why you would be worried about it,' Alex begins, knowing that this is her moment to be there for Sara.  After all, she was there for her when it mattered. 'But come on, Lance.  It is very, very obvious that she really likes you, and I think if you tell her it would just be better for the future of whatever you guys have,' Alex declares, and Sara nods pensively, leaning her own elbows on her legs as well. 

 

'I haven't even kissed her, or been on a date or anything like that but...I haven't felt like this in a really, really long time.  And I don't want to mess it up,' Sara says, and she can feel tears betraying her as they prick at her eyes. 

 

'I don't wanna be that person that starts a relationship on lies,' Sara says.  'But what if there's no relationship at all if I tell her the truth?' 

 

Alex thinks on it for a moment, and then smiles slightly as she begins to tell Sara her story. 

 

'When I came out, I was terrified.  I had been building up on the idea of telling Kara for weeks, and I didn't know how to go about it because I thought that she'd look at me differently.  Maggie told me that her parents were super supportive, that everything went okay with her and that made me feel more secure when I was about to tell Kara. And it went okay with me and Kara, of course, but...a few months later, I found out that actually? Maggie lied. Turns out her parents didn't accept her at all, and she had a pretty hard time at school growing up.  But she didn't...she didn't wanna scare me.  

 

'She wanted me to have it better.  And she cared about that so much that she let it overshadow the fact that that part of our relationship was built on a lie.  We worked through it, and it was okay after a while, and she got better at telling the truth.  No more secrets type thing.  If Ava is anything like me, and let's be honest, you seem to have a bit of a type,' Alex says, and Sara smiles a little with glassy eyes, 'then the sooner that you tell her the truth, the easier it will be to move past it.  And you know what? If she doesn't want you for that reason, for liking both men and women, then she sure as hell doesn't deserve you.  But something tells me, from spending time fighting alongside her, socialising with you and her...she's someone you trust. And whatever you guys have, especially if you start it with truth?' 

 

Alex puts her hand on Sara's knee, and squeezes it, reassurance her only message as she looks at Sara's uncertain eyes. 

 

'This could be the one that's for more than just a night.'

 

Sara smiles at the memory of their conversation the first time they parted ways. 

 

'I gotta go,' Alex says, finishing her drink and taking Sara's empty glass, putting everything back in her locker.  'It was good to see you again, Lance.  Trust me.  You're gonna be okay,' she says, and Sara stands, letting Alex envelope her in a friendly, reaffirming hug. 

 

'Wait, hang on, are you not going to dinner with everyone later?' 

 

'Actually, I can't make it. I have a date,' Alex says. 'I gotta go home and change, she booked a fancy restaurant and I do not have a change of clothes for that sort of place here,' she finishes, walking around Sara towards the door.  

 

'Fancy... you're not dating Lena Luthor, are you?' Sara asks, her interest piqued. 

 

'Not Lena, no.  But she is a CFO, so I gotta look sharp.' 

 

'You always do, Danvers.' 

 

'Catch you on the other side, Lance.'

 

Alex leaves Sara in the empty changing room, and Sara smiles to herself.  Changing out of her outfit so she can put her clothes on for dinner, she makes her decision. 

 

~()~

 

Everyone is back on the Waverider now, all ready to head back to Earth 1.  

 

It's a longer journey than usual, as the portal spits them out in 1872 for some unknown reason, and they then have to travel from there to drop Ava off in 2017.  

 

Ava is sat on Sara's bed, reading the Condé Nast Traveller magazine for what feels like the first time in a year.  It's her only literary vice, and she just wants to read it in this moment. 

 

Sara walks in, and stops upon seeing Ava so soft, cross-legged on the bed in a pair of stripey socks, a green long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of black jeans. It's almost enough to make her heart skip.

 

Ava looks up to see Sara in the doorway and smiles broadly.  

 

'Hey you,' Ava says, and Sara is struck by the familiarity of the greeting.  It's not that she doesn't like it; it's more that she's scared she'll lose it in the next ten minutes. 

 

'Hi,' Sara begins, pulling her sleeves over her hands in a rare show of nervousness. 'Can we talk?'

 

Ava's smile disappears, and she puts the magazine to her side. 'Of course, what's on your mind?' 

 

'It's about the other night, at the bar?' 

 

'Yeah, I remember. Barely,' Ava quips, reminiscing over how drunk they both were. 

 

'When we were talking about um...about you and your ex-girlfriend,' Sara says, getting on the bed so that she can sit cross legged in front of Ava. 

 

'Yeah, what about it?' 

 

'You said that it's a good thing that we aren't into men,' Sara says, and Ava looks a tad confused by the mention of it. 

 

'I mean, yeah, I did...what's your point, Sara?'

 

'The thing is...I lied.' 

 

'You lied?' 

 

'I lied. I am actually...into men.  Too.  I like both.' 

 

Ava's chin tilts up a little, and her face screws into one of not hurt, but something Sara can't place.  Smething that scares the living shit out of her. 

 

'Oh.' 

 

'I didn't wanna tell you because, and I know it's stupid, but you said that your last relationship ended because she left you for a guy, and I didn't want you to think that that was the type of person that I am. Because I'm not, but I still like men and women.  It's not something I can just...choose between.  And I stand by that, and I should have said something then instead of being a coward and having to wait until now, or maybe even later.  I'm sorry I lied to you, and if you don't want to...if you don't want to possibly, date me in the future because of that then -' 

 

'Stop.'

 

'Excuse me?' Sara is not annoyed, she's just surprised at Ava's interruption. 

 

'Just um, gimme one second,' Ava says, and she climbs off the bed with a stoic face, running out of the room and leaving Sara in the lurch. 

 

Sara wants to vomit.  Could this really be how Ava feels about her, just because of that? Is it really that much of a big deal?  

 

Tears sting at her eyes and she curses herself for ever thinking this was a good idea.  The embarrassment is almost too much to handle. 

 

But it isn't her fault, and she has to remember that.  

 

She just thought that Ava was - 

 

As she reels through her thoughts, Ava walks back in, and sits back down on the bed.  She sits herself in the exact position she was before, and looks straight into Sara's eyes.  

 

'I'm sorry to just leave you like that, but I had to go get something.' 

 

She pulls a pint of cookie dough ice cream from behind her back, with two spoons in her other hand. 

 

'Think of this as my...apology gift.'

 

Sara furiously wipes at her eyes, worried that some tears may have escaped in Ava's shortlived absence. 

 

'Apology gift?'

 

'Sara...I want to apologise because, well, the fact that you thought, because of what I said the other night, that your bisexuality was something that you couldn't share with me makes me feel terrible.  Because yeah, I've had my experience with someone who has left me for the opposite sex, and it hurt like a bitch.  But she left me because she didn't love me, not because she was illusioned into being straight by Mr Macho.  I may hate her guts, but it wasn't because she was bisexual.  It was because she left me. 

 

'I am so sorry that I came off as biphobic, because it isn't what I meant in any way.  I didn't know you'd had experiences with men, and I just assumed and I'm sorry for doing that,' Ava says with a sincerity in her voice that stopped Sara from being able to hold back the tears any longer. 'Can you forgive me?' 

 

Sara let out a small sob then, quite overcome by how much emotion she was letting out. She nods furiously, and can't quite believe what's happening.

 

'Can you forgive me? For lying?' 

 

'Of course I can, stupid,' Ava says, and she smiles herself, letting a couple of tears from her eyes go too. Sara wipes at her eyes again, her head down as she does it.

 

'And for the record?' 

 

Sara looks up, and sees that Ava has moved quite a bit further forward. 

 

'I do wanna date you.'

 

Sara lets her eyes flicker down to Ava's lips, and they look so inviting. 

 

'Yeah?' 

 

'Not in the future.  Not soon.  I really, really wanna date you.  Whenever _you_ want.' 

 

Sara feels like a weight has been lifted off her shoulders, and that a whole new adventure is beginning in front of her eyes. 

 

'Perfect,' she says, before closing the small gap between them to capture Ava's lips in a languid, soft kiss.

  

It doesn't last long, but it's enough to make them both smile, breathing a little heavier than before and feeling much lighter than moments ago. 

 

'The ice cream is going to melt, you know,' Ava says, and she picks up the tub, opening the lid and handing Sara a spoon. 

 

'Well then I guess we had better eat it all, I mean, I don't make the rules,' Sara declares, and Ava gives a full-bellied laugh as Sara spoons some out of the tub and puts it to Ava's mouth, the other woman accepting the ice cream gratefully and picking up her spoon as Sara eats some for herself. 

 

'You're really pretty, Sara Lance,' Ava says, not being able to contain herself as Sara looks content with her tub of cookie dough ice cream. 

 

They feel like teenagers again. 

 

'Shut up,' Sara retorts, 'but thank you. You are too,' she resolves quietly, and then laughs at the ridiculousness of it all.  

 

They climb up with the ice cream and settle their heads on the back of the headboard, sharing the ice cream and browsing Ava's magazine for wonderful places to go.

 

It's a sense of normalcy that's so abnormal it's wonderful, and one she thought she'd never have. 

 

But it's right in her grasp now.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if I approached this subject well, as I don't want to cause offence to anyone. I hope you enjoyed the read; a girl loves kudos and comments. <3   
> Come prompt me @ superscavenger on tumblr!


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